Chana Biryani is flavourful, spicy rice prepared with spices and white chickpeas / Channa / garbanzo beans. I have prepared this in pressure cooker. It is a easy to prepare one pot meal. It has chickpeas for protein and rice for carbohydrate and the spices with their own health benefits, making it a complete, healthy one pot meal. Did I mention this recipe is vegan and gluten free too? Though this is easy to prepare, it needs prior planning as you have to soaked dried chickpeas at least 6 hours before cooking. But if you are using canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), you don’t have to soak. But I am really not a fan of canned chickpeas because of their high sodium content. This recipe is perfect for packing lunch and also to cook on a special occasion.

How to prepare chana biryani in pressure cooker?

Soak dried chickpeas for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Wash rice, drain excess water and keep it aside. Slice onions, dice tomatoes, chop mint leaves, coriander leaves and keep it ready. Then heat oil and add fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and fry. Then add sliced onions and fry till they turn translucent. Now add chopped tomatoes along with ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala and cook till tomatoes are mashed. Next add soaked chickpeas with 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Then add rice, chopped mint leaves, required water and salt, mix well and pressure cook in medium high heat for a whistle and turn off the heat. Wait till the pressure releases, add chopped cilantro leaves, gently fluff it up and serve it warm.

Next add soaked chickpeas along with 1/4 cup of water, mix well and cover and cook in medium-low heat for about 3 -4 minutes.

Then add rice, chopped mint leaves, required water and salt. Mix well and pressure cook in medium high heat for one whistle. Turn off the heat.

Let the pressure release and add chopped cilantro, gently fluff it up and serve.

Notes :

If you prefer more chickpeas, instead of 1/2 cup, you can add 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas.

Instead of kabuli chana, black chickpeas can be used too.

If you want the biryani more spicy, you can add 2 green chillies along with onions. Or you can add 1/2 teaspoon more of chilli powder.

I have added 3 1/2 + 1/4 cup of water totally. But it varies with rice, so check yours and add accordingly.

Instead of cooking in pressure cooker, this can be cooked in electric rice cooker too. Cook from step 4 – step 7 in pan, transfer everything to electric rice cooker along with rice, mint leaves, salt and water, then cook.

At the end while adding chopped cilantro, you can squeeze in half a lemon and add the juice and mix well and serve.